JESÚS NAVAS REACHES 40 CAPS FOR SPAIN

His birth certificate says he is 33, turning 34 next month, but the statistics that Jesús Navas is continuing to register has everyone asking where the limit is for him. As well as breaking records for Sevilla FC, he is doing it with the national side, as he reached 40 appearances on Saturday in the draw against Norway. 

Navas made his debut in 2009 against Argentina at the Calderón, so he could well have made more appearances if personal reasons had not hindered him. In the same season he would go on to play another friendly, which was in 2010, the glorious year that Spain won the World Cup in South Africa. Navas was on the pitch when Iniesta scored that goal, one of the three matches in which he played. 

He played in 35 matches up until 2014, after his 2009 debut. Since his return in 2019, he has played five times, with a goal and an assist. 

He clocked up a further 24 games with the national side until 2014, winning EURO 2012 in Kiev, where Navas scored once in his three appearances in that tournament. 2013 was his most fruitful year in terms of caps, winning 12, including three at the Confederations Cup. A year later, Navas played his final match in what you could call his first spell with Spain, with a total of 35 games, three goals and eight assists.

Five years on, the academy graduate became an important player in Robert Moreno's side, who continues to call Navas up after Luis Enrique had initially brought him back into the squad. He has since made another five appearances, scoring against the Faroe Islands in June and assisting a Morata goal against Malta in March, taking his tally to four goals and nine assists.

The man from Los Palacios has featured in just one loss for Spain, while featuring in 34 wins and five draws.